Defense Lawyers Claim FBI Ran One of the World's Largest Child Porn Sites in 2015 (motherboard.vice.com). Oh for heaven's sake. Do we really need this kind of "sting" operation? Do we need FBI computers serving child porn, for any reason
whatsoever? In a motion to dismiss, public defenders note: “There is no
law enforcement exemption, [n]or statutory exemption, for the
distribution of child pornography.” Also there's no common-sense
exemption.

Nutrition Advocate Michael Pollan on How America Got So Screwed Up about Food (vox.com). "Don't get lost in the details. It’s very important to keep an eye on the big picture. Eating real food is the most important thing you can do if you’re concerned about your health. The precise amount of various nutrients really is not going to make a difference." A fine interview, in which Pollan comes close to advocating a pet theory of mine that says, basically, if you want to stay healthy, don't put anything in your stomach that doesn't contain DNA. (Eat things that come from actual cells; something that either is or was alive.)

Deformed Mountain Lion Mystifies Experts (wtvr.com). A male mountain lion involved in an attack on a dog near Preston, Idaho, was killed near the Utah border. Examination of the corpse showed the animal had an extra, vestigial jaw growing out of its skull.

Who Owns U.S. Business? How Much Tax Do They Pay? (nber.org). "In 1980, pass-through entities [not subject to corporate income tax] accounted for 20.7 percent of U.S. business income; by 2011, they represented 54.2 percent." Yep, you pay income taxes so the owner class doesn't have to.

Think Tank Says to Scrap Bank of England's Monetary Authority (telegraph.co.uk). The Adam Smith Institute argues that the "Bank of England should abolish the Monetary Policy Committee and dump its inflation target because the regime has been responsible for creating a century of boom and bust." The argument dovetails nicely with recent papers on Fed boom-bust hysteresis effects. It basically says monetarism is not without its effects, but the effects are mostly side-effects and mostly bad, or at least unintended.

A mosaic of all 15 tropical storms to reach or form in the Central Pacific basin in 2015. (Previous record was 10.) Notice the Hawaiian Islands (light blue) seem to have their own "exclusion zone."

Oregon Rancher ‘Heroes’ Accused of Child Abuse (thedailybeast.com). There's an actual photo of the abuse; it's not just an accusation. That kid'ssandpaper burns aren't alleged burns. Why are we afraid to call these criminals what they are?

The Boss Doesn't Want to See Your Resume (theaustralian.com.au). A non-paywalled recap of the paywalled WSJ story, outlining a new trend: In order to guard against bias, identifying info is hidden while candidates are asked to do an actual assignment (which can be evaluated), sometimes for free, sometimes not.

Why Are Drug Monopolies Running Amok? Meet Deborah Feinstein (theintercept.com). A confused (if well motivated) mess of a story. "Horizon, another drugmaker, sells a medication called Duexis, which costs $1,500 a month, even though its component drugs cost no more than $40 a month." Yeah but see, that's not illegal. That's how capitalism works! If you want a profit-based health care system, okay, you get (surprise!) drug and insurance companies profiting—massively—off sickness, misery, and death (and a certain percentage of practitioners who are in it for the money, of course); a system in which only the rich can afford to get sick or have babies, essentially. If that system's not working for you (if the system is broken), consider structural changes to the system. Don't complain when someone follows the rules. The rules say unlimited profit is okay.

How Corporate America Keeps Huge Hacks Secret (CNN). Utilities, banks, oil companies get hacked all the time, but you'll never hear about most of it. "Protected Critical Infrastructure Information" is to be kept out of journalists' hands, according to the 2002 Homeland Security Act.